


Seven Days Till Sunlight

by Random_Inked_Thoughts



Series: Dream SMP except Tommy is sad-oh, wait... [5]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Depressed TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Happy Ending, Manipulation, Manipulative Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Traumatized Tommyinnit (Video Blogging RPF), why are all the tags about tommy so sad?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:40:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29636163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Inked_Thoughts/pseuds/Random_Inked_Thoughts
Summary: “We’re locked in here together, Tommy.” Dream said, the delighted lilt of his voice poison to Tommy’s ears. “We’ll be here, just the two of us, for a very, very long time.”Tommy felt like he couldn’t breathe. The lava bubbled and popped behind him, a quiet reminder not to back up any further. “No,” he whispered, his voice coming out nothing more than a strangled whisper. “Sam, let me out.”“Let me ouuuttt…” Dream mocked him softly, creeping a little closer to the shaking boy. The lava lit up his scars a brilliant white, and his green eyes were predatory, filled with the adrenaline of a hunter stalking his prey.-----In which Dream learns every way to push Tommy's buttons, and in return, Tommy finds that Dream has a few buttons he can push as well. Mostly angst with a happy ending. You don't need to have read anything else in the series to read this, but if you have, you might pick up on a few references! :)
Relationships: Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: Dream SMP except Tommy is sad-oh, wait... [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2083803
Comments: 103
Kudos: 698
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	1. Day One

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, you guys thought I was done with this series??? 
> 
> Yeah me too honestly, I really wasn't expecting any more main character Tommy lore... :/
> 
> Anywho this thing is gonna be seven short chapters (maybe like 1k apiece, shorter than I would usually write for a chapter) and it's not gonna be happy till the end so this is your warning now. I don't think I need to clarify that this is /rp lol, but I'm gonna do it anyway! Everything I write for them is /rp. Hope you enjoy! :)

“We’re locked in here together, Tommy.” Dream said, the delighted lilt of his voice poison to Tommy’s ears. “We’ll be here, just the two of us, for a very, _very_ long time.” 

Tommy felt like he couldn’t breathe. The lava bubbled and popped behind him, a quiet reminder not to back up any further. “No,” he whispered, his voice coming out nothing more than a strangled whisper. “Sam, let me out.” 

“Let me ouuuttt…” Dream mocked him softly, creeping a little closer to the shaking boy. The lava lit up his scars a brilliant white, and his green eyes were predatory, filled with the adrenaline of a hunter stalking his prey. 

“Sam!” Tommy’s voice raised in volume and pitch as he stumbled back another dangerous step. “Sam, let me out! Phil! Help me!”

  
A haunting giggling reached his ears, chilling him to the bones. Dream was laughing, shoulders shaking and arms wrapped around himself as he tried to contain his glee. “Yes, Tommy,” he managed to get out between giggles, “Call for them! Beg and plead for them to come and whisk you away! They’ll hear you eventually… right?” His giggled died down, subsiding into nothing. His eyes glinted with smug excitement. “No one is coming for you, Tommy. You don’t have anyone left but me.” 

Tommy could feel himself shaking, but he swallowed down the lump in his throat and turned to face the manipulative bastard in front of him. Dream met his gaze with curiosity, cocking his head. “They’ll come for me,” Tommy said, careful that his voice didn’t waver. 

“Oh,” Dream pouted, “Of _course_ they will, Tommy. In fact, I’m sure they’re coming for you right now! You must be their top priority. After all, we both know _just how much_ they care for you.” 

“You’re a real dick,” Tommy hissed out, curling in on himself. The statement lacked his usual venom. 

Dream just gave him a cold smile. “Cute,” he replied. 

\-----

_The figures scuttled and danced through the shadows, laughter echoing and bouncing around the clearing. Tommy could see his breath puffing in the air as he ran, little white clouds that dissipated as he carried on, chest seizing up. The laughter was getting louder. They were getting closer._

_A stray root snagged on his ankle and Tommy felt himself go down, scraping his elbows and tearing the skin from his palms. “Ah!” he bit back a couple choice curses, rolling over and convulsing in pain for a moment. Then, he heard it._

_“Tommy… oh, Tommy…” The voice sang, a haunting melody that drifted through the trees and wove its way through the air. “Where did you go?”_

_A second one joined it, deeper. Not as outwardly taunting. “Why did you run, Tommy? Why can’t you stop running?”_

_Tommy whimpered, tried to move, but he couldn’t. He was frozen in his own little bubble while the world around him moved with a will of its own. His eyes were fixed on a point in the middle distance, unable to do anything except watch and wait._

_The creatures ambled out of the forest, trembling slightly. The one on the right, Tommy knew well. That overexaggerated smile, those dead white eyes, they’d haunted him in the weeks following his exile. As he watched, it dragged a hand down its face as though tracing a tear track, its finger catching on the slash through his cheek, a continuation of its twisted smile. Blood oozed around the open wound, but the creature didn’t pay it any mind, red smudging after their finger like a twisted finger painting._

_The creature on the left just smiled at him through oversized tusks, the rusted crown on his head slipping precariously, resting among dirty blonde curls. It’s blue clothing barely held together, nothing more than tatters covering it’s painfully thin body. It clutched a broken turtle shell in an iron grip._

_“Get away from me,” Tommy whispered, voice crackling with fear._

_“You ran from me, Tommy, you ran from both of us,” his nightmare hissed, words nothing more than a rush of stale air and a pain in his chest._

_“We just wanted to help you,” The figure on the left chimed in, still limping forward. Tommy noticed burn marks along the dead leg, remainders of rockets._

_“That’s not true,” Tommy shook his head like it would help him clear it. “You wanted to help yourself. I’m nothing more than a pawn to you.”_

_“Oh, come on now, Tommy,” the first figure spoke again, voice chillingly familiar. “You’re not just a pawn to me.”_

_Tommy felt himself pale._

_“You were never just a pawn to me!” The creature was grinning again, blood oozing from his smile. It’s dead eyes stared into Tommy’s own. “Tommy, you’re my best friend.”_

_His body heaved, a physical rejection of the thought. “No!” he shrieked, and then the two figures moved as one, pouncing on him faster than he could blink._

_\-----_

Tommy awoke with a gasp, eyes flying open and adrenaline pumping furiously. The familiar name was on his tongue before he could even think twice about it. “Dream!” 

Lava bubbled behind him, the warmth of the cell seeping into his bones. A quiet humming filled the empty air, a mix between a melody and meaninglessness. Soft fingers carded through his hair as the melody stopped. Dream’s voice was quietly, comfortingly smug. “Shh, you’re okay Tommy, I’m right here.” 

He was shaking, but Tommy wrenched himself away from Dream, away from his tainted touch, scrambling as far back from the man as he could. Dream just pouted again, but the corners of his eyes were tight with happiness. 

“Oh, _come on,_ Tommy,” Dream said, no longer able to conceal his grin. “You can’t seriously tell me you don’t miss our friendship after _that.”_

His chest felt tight. “Don’t say that to me,” Tommy wheezed, head echoing with the twisted phrase. It sounded exactly the same as it had in his dreams, disconnected from the situation at hand and overly friendly. 

“Don’t say what? That we’re friends?” Dream taunted. “It’s true, you know.” 

“We are _not_ friends!” 

The terrified statement echoed in the small box, but Dream only smiled at him. “You still cry for me in your sleep. You still need me in your life, Tommy, you can’t deny it. You’re scared to lose me.” 

“You don’t get to hold that shit against me,” Tommy growled, but his breaths were coming out shaky and he could feel the acute pain of his fingernails digging into his own skin. They left little crescent moon shaped divots when he retracted them, flexing his numb fingers. “Don’t use that against me.” 

“Well,” Dream drawled, sprawling against his own wall, “I mean, I guess if you _really_ don’t want me to, I won’t.” He shrugged. “Don’t worry, Tommy, you’ll remember we were friends soon enough. After all…” the green eyed inmate smiled lazily, “I _do_ have seven days.” 


	2. Day Two?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my GOSH, guys I was not expecting the overwhelming support I got on chapter one for this thing, thank you all so much!! <3 
> 
> Anywho, if Dream and Tommy won't produce content for the week in the box, I guess I'll have to do it myself /j

“Let’s play a game!” 

Tommy rolled over from where he was sitting to stare Dream dead in the eyes. There was an almost hopeful look on his cellmate’s face, reminiscent of a puppy. It was too similar to the way Dream used to be, before all of  _ this.  _

“Piss off,” he muttered, turning back around. 

“Tommy,” Dream whined, but there was a hint of danger in his tone. “Come on, you slept all of the first day, let’s have some fun now!” 

“No, I don’t want to-” Tommy paused, turning back around. “Has it been a day already? How can you tell?” 

He was met with Dream’s triumphant smile, celebrating his small victory. “Oh, I’m not really sure anymore… Ever since Sam stopped bringing me clocks, it’s been a little wishy washy,” he admitted. “I mostly just try to guess based on what feels right.” 

Tommy bit his lip. How long  _ had  _ he been here? Had it really been a day? Or was Dream just messing with him again? He eyed the dirty blonde distrustfully. That seemed like something he would do, mess with his sense of time as a sort of sick joke. 

Dream smiled back at him, cheerfully twiddling his thumbs. The sight made Tommy sick to his stomach. 

There was a  _ clunk,  _ and then a package splashed in the small pool of water in the corner of Dream’s prison. 

“Potatoes!” Dream said with delight, scrambling to his feet and walking over. He grabbed the bag and lugged it over. “What a treat!” he hummed, opening the bag. “Sometimes they forget to feed me, I’m glad they didn’t this time, especially with you here.” 

Tommy stared at the childlike glee on Dream’s face, lips twisting as he took in the sorry sight. “You’re messed up, dude. Look at yourself, scrambling over some potatoes.” He laughed bitterly. “You used to have it all, Big D. You used to have this whole server under your thumb. Now you’re just all… sad and shit.” 

The smile on Dream’s face dimmed slightly, but a moment later it was back with full force. “Eat up! You don’t know the next time you’ll get to when you’re in here.” He offered a raw potato to Tommy. 

The teen just let out a brittle laugh. “No fucking way, I’m not eating that.” 

“Eat. You need your strength,” Dream urged him, forcing the potato closer. 

“I’m not hungry,” he lied through his teeth. He was too afraid to stomach anything, if he choked it down it would just come right back up. 

Dream raised an eyebrow at him. “Tommy, I’m trying  _ my  _ best not to lie anymore, the best thing you can do is not lie to me anymore either.” 

“I never even lied to-” Tommy didn’t finish the sentence, biting his lip and pushing down the twisting in his gut. No way in hell he was letting  _ Dream  _ of all people guilt him. “Fuck off.”

“Eat,” Dream urged him again. 

“I don’t want it. You touched it.” 

The other man huffed, sitting back on his haunches. “How old are you, twelve?” 

“Why, is that the age requirement for emotional manipulation?” Tommy replied bitterly. 

Dream’s face flashed with anger. “I said I’ve changed.”   
  
“And I-” Tommy replied, plucking the potato from Dream’s hand, “-said that I don’t believe that bullshit for a second.” He turned around and chucked the food as hard as he could. It hit the lava with a sizzle, sinking into the fiery red and burning. 

“Tommy-!” Dream cut off his own cry, but the teen didn’t miss the way Dream’s hands twitched as though to run after the food. His entire face was twisted with fury. 

_ Finally,  _ Tommy thought, with no small amount of triumph,  _ he shows his true colors.  _ This much, at least, he knew how to deal with. He raised his head higher in silent challenge. His heart was thundering in his chest. 

“Fine.” Dream said, after the tensest moment of silence Tommy had ever felt. His fists relaxed, and an almost dopey smile crossed his face. “It’s fine. Gosh, Tommy, if you wanted your potatoes cooked, that’s not the way to go about it at all! You have to hold them near to the lava, not throw them in! They’ll burn if you do that!” 

Tommy blinked, watching as Dream took one of his potatoes and rolled it as close to the lava as he could, until the starchy food was just barely resting on the edge of the obsidian. “You see,” Dream said, voice sounding far away, “The trick is  _ patience, _ you really need to wait it out…” 

_ I just need to wait this out,  _ Tommy thought, trying and failing to tune out the green eyed man.  _ I can do this.  _

He couldn’t do this. Dream continued to be overly, chillingly nice to him, no matter what he did. He threw his potatoes into the lava, he kicked at the other man, he screamed the entirety of Georgenotfound Onlyfans until his throat was raw, but Dream flat out refused to show any kind of reaction past a pleasant smile and a tired look in his eyes. 

  
Eventually, he leaned against the warm obsidian, breathing heavily and glaring across the at Dream, who was humming to himself while he wrote. 

“Something I can help you with?” Dream asked, not making eye contact. A small grin played on the corners of his lips. 

“No,” he grumbled, wincing at the strain on his throat. 

Dream hummed, before turning around the book he was holding and pushing it in Tommy’s direction. 

“What is this?” Tommy growled, refusing to look at it. 

“Hangman?” Dream offered, and Tommy felt white hot anger stir in his gut. He was ripping the notebook from Dream’s hands and chucking it into the lava before he even really registered what he was doing.    
  
The green eyed man let out a small noise of disappointment, before shrugging. “That’s okay, Tommy!” He got up and ambled over to the big chest in the corner, opening it and pulling an identical journal from the pile within. “I have more!” He cocked his head, looking deviously innocent. “Is tic tac toe more your style, then? I’m not particularly partial to either one, so you can choose if you feel that strongly about it!” 

Tommy just glared at him a little harder. If looks could kill, Dream’s final canon life would be long gone. 

“Okay,” Dream said agreeably, “You don’t want to play, I get it. That’s okay too! Whatever you want!”

“What’s your play?” Tommy bit out, cracking his knuckles and ignoring the hollow feeling in his stomach. He was beginning to regret throwing the potatoes into the lava. “What do you gain from being nice to me?” 

“What do I gain?” Dream asked him, looking over with those same hopeful green eyes. “Well, a  _ friend,  _ I hope.” He smiled at the teen’s flinch. “I want to be your friend, Tommy. That’s all. Hopefully, over time you’ll realize that you want to be my friend too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anywho, I hope you've been... enjoying? In pain? Waiting for the big emotional payout? Idk, my guys, stay safe out there and drink some water :)


	3. Day... Four?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I just want to say thank you thank you thank you so freaking much for all of the love and support you've shown this fic so far! You guys absolutely blow me away, and I hope you all know that I really do mean it when I say I really couldn't ask for better readers <3
> 
> anywho enjoy Tommy finally managing to even the scales a little

“...And if one of those bottles happened to fall… sixty nine hundred thousand four hundred and twenty bottles of weakness potion on the wall…” Tommy mumbled, staring out of the open wall of Pandora’s box. “Funny number,” he muttered. His voice was flat. 

“Will you  _ please  _ stop it?” Dream groaned, head in his hands. “You’ve been going for  _ hours  _ now.” 

Tommy glanced over. “Sixty nine hundred thousand four hundred and twenty bottles of weakness potion on the wall. You take one down, pass it around, and then,” he paused, “sixty nine hundred thousand and four hundred and  _ nineteen  _ bottles of weakness potion on the wall.” 

Dream hissed out something that sounded like a curse. 

“What, does that piss you off or something? When I blatantly disregard your wants and actively strive to make you uncomfortable?” Tommy asked him. 

“You need to shut your goddamn mouth,” Dream replied, a deep growl.

Tommy went rigid at his words, biting back a small whimper. That was the tone he used to hear every single day, over and over. 

_ Put your stuff in the hole, Tommy. Don’t piss me off. _

“That’s more like it,” Dream replied, smiling nastily at his sudden silence. “Isn’t it so much nicer, like this? Isn’t it easier?” 

Shakily, Tommy turned back to face the lava, inching unconsciously closer to the burning heat.

Dream was humming again, that same mix between melody and madness. “This is nice,” he spoke after a while. “Just you, and me, and nothing but time.” The orange of his shirt was almost the same shade as the lava today, a bright flicker that fit right in with the rest of the cell. Orange and black, magma and obsidian. 

The silence between them fell like heavy snow.

Tommy wasn’t sure if it had been seconds or hours. “Was-“ Tommy’s voice cracked on the first word, and he tried again, feeling his stomach plummet at Dream’s disapproving stare. “Was it worth it?” 

“Was what worth it?” Dream asked him. 

“This. Losing everything. Getting locked up.”

Dream seemed to genuinely contemplate the question for a moment. “I didn’t have anything to lose,” he finally replied. 

“Respectfully, or rather, disrespectfully, that’s bullshit, Dream.” It was easier to talk to him like this, when he wasn’t looking directly at him. He could almost just imagine the green eyed boy as another voice in his head. 

“Respectfully, I think it’s time you shut your fucking mouth again,” Dream replied. 

It took Tommy a while to respond to that, clenching and unclenching his fists, shuffling his worn converse lightly against the obsidian floor. The tears that dripped from the walls and ceiling made little  _ plinks _ as they hit the ground. “Was it really worth it to gain all of this if it meant losing George?” 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Dream stiffen. “What did you just ask me?” Warning,  _ danger,  _ oozed from his words. 

“You heard me,” Tommy replied, mustering confidence he couldn’t quite get a firm grip on. “Was it worth it, to ‘get’ me, if it meant you lost George and Sapnap?” 

“Sapnap came to visit me,” Dream replied, “We’re at peace with our decisions, we understand where we both stand.” 

“But George still hasn’t,” Tommy replied. “And he clearly meant more to you than Sapnap did, you treated him like shit when he came to visit.” 

“I didn’t treat anyone like anything,” Dream replied. “I was on strike.” 

“And what the  _ hell  _ was that supposed to do, Dream? You don’t get to talk to anyone anyway usually, just admit you didn’t want to see him.” 

“I did want to see him.”

“Then you’re still attached.” 

“No, I’m not attached to anyone or anything. I gave it up for this.” 

“Well now we’re just right back where we started, Dream. I don’t care how deep in denial you are, that’s not what I’m asking about. I’m asking if it was worth it.” 

Dream didn’t respond, so Tommy pushed further, eating up his silence with a grin.

“Was it worth it, pushing your closest friends away and seeing the hate in their eyes? Was it worth it to use them over and over and discard them the moment it best suited you?”

“I never used  _ him,”  _ Dream murmured, eyes clouded with memories he didn’t want to think about. 

Tommy just snorted. “Tell that to Sapap. His visit destroyed him, and I’m amazed he even came to visit you at all. He wasn’t right for  _ weeks  _ after he saw you. I bet he told George how broken you are the first second he could. Gogy’s probably glad Sapnap let him know, so he doesn’t even have to bother finding an excuse for not coming to see you-”

“Stop,” Dream said, voice holding none of the control he strived to keep. 

“Why should I?” Tommy asked him. “You didn’t stop. You never know when to stop. And now they hate you.”    
  
“Shut up!” Dream snapped, voice ringing in the small box. 

Tommy flinched, shrinking away from the noise. The most peculiar thing was happening to the man across from him. Dream was  _ shaking.  _

As he watched, Dream gritted his teeth. It seemed like he was struggling to keep his breathing under control. “You need to shut up again, Tommy.” 

“No, I don’t think I will,” Tommy replied, taking a sense of pride in the way that Dream’s hands trembled ever so slightly. “Because for all of your calculations, Dream, you forgot something very important.” Tommy grinned, leaning forward. “Just as much as I’m stuck in here with you, you’re stuck in here with me.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw some of you commenting on gnf onlyfans last chapter and my justification for putting it in there is that George reacted to it while he was live and playing around as his avatar on the SMP, meaning that it's /totally canonical/ in the SMP lore and thus valid to use in this fanfic lol. There's also just something about the mental image of Tommy screaming the first line at the top of his lungs that makes me laugh, so there's that too.


	4. No, Today Is Day Four.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahahahahahaha I didn't plan for this

Dream hadn’t so much as looked at him in hours. The older man sat moping in his corner, rocking back and forth and humming a tune that sounded hauntingly familiar to Tommy’s personal rendition of Georgenotfound Onlyfans, key change and all. Every now and then he would look out over at the bubbling lava and sigh, heavy and depressed and fake. Tommy hated every second of it. 

He replayed their conversation over and over again in his head, wondering when Dream had stopped leading their deadly dance and he himself had stepped up into the role. Tommy ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. Dream was eating their last potato. 

His stomach grumbled indignantly at that, curling further in on itself. The stabbing pain was only manageable when he lay flat on his stomach now. When he thought about it, maybe an impromptu hunger strike wasn’t the best way to go about proving a point. By this point, he didn’t even know what point he was trying to prove anymore. 

Another spike of pain made him twitch, rolling onto his back as his hand came to rest gently on his flat stomach, clenching at his own skin as he rode out the painful, acidic feeling of being eaten from the inside out. A day without food wouldn’t kill him, but he didn’t know what a week would do to him, and he wasn’t keen on finding out. 

“What, regretting your decision?” Dream asked him through a mouthful of potato. “Have you bit off-” he snorted, “-bit off more than you could chew? Figuratively, of course, since, you know...” 

“Never, I am so very strong. I have a stomach of steel,” Tommy gritted out, the rumbling in his stomach getting louder. “Piss off,” he added for good measure. 

Dream laughed, but it just seemed hollow. Everything about the other man seemed a little bit hollow now, like his spark had dimmed every so slightly. His green eyes flickered over Tommy like he was any other object in his cell, nothing more interesting than the scenery. “You’re funny, Tommy. That’s part of what makes our friendship work so well, we bounce off one another.” 

A spark of a repressed memory tried to flare up, but Tommy just scowled, squashing it. “You really are insufferable, aren’t you? When will you give it up? We’re not friends. We will never be friends.” 

“We were friends once,” Dream said, and his voice seemed almost mournful in that instant. 

Tommy closed his eyes, blocking the memories out and forcing his way through them. “No, Dream. I will recognize that at one point I did believe we were friends, but you never considered me a friend, you considered me a plaything. And the last thing I want you to do right now is try to guilt me.” 

“I’m not trying to make you feel guilty,” Dream said quickly, but Tommy just steamrolled over it. 

“You want me to think you don’t know the effects of what you’re saying. You want me here, trapped under your thumb and playing call and response and whatever other dumb games you choose for nothing more than your own enjoyment, and I’m fucking sick of it. I’m terrified of you, Dream, but no one can live their entire life in fear, and this is my life now, for the time being. So piss off, let me have this.” 

“Oh?” Dream replied, and Tommy could hear him rustling around behind him. “You’re terrified of me?” 

Tommy closed his eyes. He really didn’t want to be thinking about this, reliving this, right now. “Of course I am, Dream, how could you expect anything different? You spend months traumatizing me, conditioning me, cutting me off from anything and everything I love, inciting conflict just to drive a wedge between me and everyone else, and you don’t expect me to feel scared shitless when your name even just comes up in conversation? I can’t go near plains biomes without my chest tightening up anymore. The sound of lighted TNT makes me twitch. And don’t even get me started on digging holes.” He felt sick. 

Dream didn’t say anything, but there wasn’t really anything to say.

“You may not look the part right now, Dream, but you’re considered to be a bit of a god. You used to be a benevolent one,” Tommy whispered, aware and at peace with the tears trickling down his cheeks. “What happened?”

For the longest time, the only response that greeted him was the slow sizzling of lava and the soft drips of crying obsidian. Even the shuffling behind him had stopped, and Tommy took a moment to breathe, relishing the sense of finality in the air. 

“I like to be in control,” Dream finally responded, sounding hesitant. “I- when I started this server, it was just me and George, and then Sapnap and the others. It was manageable, peaceful. It felt like a home.” Tommy could hear the smile in his voice. 

“Yeah, apparently it was also boring as shit,” he muttered, so low Dream almost couldn’t hear him. His tears had stopped. The whirlwind of emotion he had been feeling had stopped with them. Having shed his tears left him hollow inside, but in a good way. He felt like he could begin to fill himself back up again now that there was space to. 

“Over time, we lost that,” Dream continued, oblivious to Tommy’s internalized epiphany. “You came on, and you were such a spark of everything I hated. You were chaos, untamable and wild. You took and took and never managed to give anything at all. When the first world started… it was all downhill from there. I became obsessed with the idea of controlling everything, bringing it back to the way it used to be, where I felt like the server’s heart beat in time with my own, not regardless of it.” 

“And I was a different person back then too,” Tommy acknowledged. “But none of what I did warranted any of the shit you did to me.” 

Dream looked over at him. “I can’t apologize for what I did to you right now.” 

“And I wasn’t expecting you to. I can’t accept an apology from you right now,” Tommy replied. “I might not ever be able to,” he admitted reluctantly. 

Dream nodded, clearly thinking it over. He didn’t seem too bothered. “I definitely hurt you.” 

Tommy hummed. “You hurt a lot of people, Dream. It’s not just about me anymore.” 

“Look at that,” Dream said tentatively. In any other situation, his words would have been teasing. “Character growth.” 

Tommy looked over, and he caught a flash of the old Dream beneath the surface of the blonde’s emotionless expression. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. After wishing so much horror on the man for so long, it was almost relieving to realize he had the option not to care anymore, to move on for himself, to let Dream do the same and to stay away from him. “Well, I couldn't exactly work on my extreme trauma without some form of character growth,” he replied. “You’re absolutely twisted, I hope you know that. No one should do that to another person, let alone a kid.”

_ I never really knew you when you were yourself, but I hope for your sake that this isn’t anything like him.  _

A strange expression crossed Dream’s face. It wasn’t guilt, because he didn’t feel guilty, but it was still an improvement from joy. 

“Let’s work on you next then, shall we?” The teen tried for a light joke, unsure of what to say. 

Dream seemed to visibly brighten. “You’ll work on it with me?” 

Tommy was shaking his head already. “Dream.” 

The other man nodded. “I know. Habit.” He looked over at Tommy. “Then what  _ do _ I do?” 

Tommy let out a sharp sigh. “Fuck, Dream, I don’t know. Work on yourself, think about what you’ve done. Start by making things up to the people that mean the most to you. Why the fuck do you want me to coach you? This is very clearly a  _ you _ centric issue, and I would like no part of it. We’ve spent the last three days tearing one another to shreds, I think that’s enough for me.” 

Boundaries. Something he had never thought he’d get in a million years from Dream. He didn’t have to thank him for doing the bare minimum, but Tommy felt relief flood his entire body.

“I-” Dream’s voice faltered with confusion. “I don’t think I can care about any more than one person at a time right now. It was always you, for so long.” 

“Well it sure as hell will  _ not  _ continue to be me,” Tommy replied. “And if that’s really the case, fine, take it slow. Choose someone else that matters to you, mattered to you. Someone you miss. George. Sapnap. I don’t fucking care, as long as they aren’t me.”

Dream nodded. “But you want me to get better.” His voice would have sounded almost accusing, if it weren’t so hollow. 

“Jesus, dude.” Tommy ran his fingers through his hair. “You really have trouble with this stuff, don’t you? I am allowed to want you to get better and also want to stay as far away as possible from you, for the sake of myself and my own trauma. Those two are not mutually exclusive, it’s called sympathy. Just because I hope you can become a decent person again doesn’t obligate me to associate with you.” 

  
Dream nodded, eyes flickering in the low light. He looked deep in thought. Not sad, not angry, just thoughtful. It was a better look on him than anything else Tommy had seen him so far. 

“I’m terrified of you, but I’m acknowledging that and trying to move past all of the awful shit you did to me. It would be... _ appreciated _ if you would give me the space to do that.” 

  
Sure, Tommy felt hollow, but he only felt hollow because had carved the cancer out of himself. For the first time since he had set foot in Pandora’s box, Tommy allowed himself a small smile, resting his chin back down on the purpled obsidian and watching the lava drip. He wasn’t particularly happy, but that didn’t mean he was sad either. He could just be content for now, now that he allowed himself to start moving on. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this thing suddenly took a HUGE plunge off track, and I'm gonna roll with it. I did want to use this note to address something quick though, in regards to this going off track! I'm not sure if you guys noticed, since it wasn't super obvious (/s) but Dream came off as a bit more of a sympathetic character in this, and Tommy's thoughts on him maybe changed a little. I don't want people to think that I'm saying people should forgive their abusers, since I don't think that at all. I'm trying to get across that Tommy realized he could let go of some of his hatred and focus his efforts on himself and moving on. He hasn't forgiven Dream, as he shouldn't, but he's (for lack of better phrasing) "come to terms" with what happened and how it affected him. I hope this explains everything I'm going for well enough! Let me know if it doesn't, please. :)


	5. Day Five or Six.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm so sorry for missing a day yesterday! :( I just couldn't manage to get it out in time, I had a huge test to take and I had to help a friend with a huge project. Hopefully you guys are enjoying the story.

“You know, this is kind of like exposure therapy,” Tommy said. 

Dream looked up from his notebook. “I think you have to consent to exposure therapy for it to actually be effective,” he replied. 

Tommy let out a huff. “I’m done blindly listening to what you tell me.” 

“You know, you can stop using that as an excuse for everything now. You’ve made your point,” Dream replied. 

“No,” Tommy decided, “I don’t think I will. It took me this long to accept my trauma, Dream, let me have this.” 

Dream didn’t respond, the light scratching of his quill filling the silence between them. What had once festered like an open wound now sat comfortably between them, a barrier and a comfortable boundary. 

“What do you miss most about being outside?” Tommy asked him suddenly, willingly breaking the barrier. 

“Parkour.”

“That is the single most basic bitch answer you could have given me,” the teen said with a mocking huff, his voice jumping half an octave. “Oh, I’m Dream and I like to frolic in the open plains! When I see the light of day again I may once more jump from jungle vine to jungle vine! If only… When will my ability to parkour return from the war?” 

“What?” Dream replied defensively, “It’s true!” 

“Whatever, Dream.” Tommy rolled his eyes. “I miss my friends. I miss seeing Tubbo most of all. I hope he’s doing okay.” 

“I’m sure he’s fine.” 

“Of course he’s doing fine, you’re far away from him,” Tommy muttered. 

Dream seemed unphased by that, ignoring it in favor of a question. “What about Techno?” 

Tommy felt his heart plummet. This was not a topic he was a big fan of. “What about him?” 

“Well, you two were close, weren’t you?” Dream asked him. 

“The keyword there is ‘were, Big D.” Tommy let a scowl cross his face, and he folded his arms across his chest defensively. “You were there when he denounced me, you know what happened.” 

Dream thought it over for a second. “Sapnap and I have fought over way worse than that.” 

“And are you still friends?” Tommy leveled his gaze at the older, who frowned slightly. 

“Point. It seems like you really don’t want to talk about this, Tommy.” 

A slightly hysterical laugh bubbled up out of his throat. “Really? My past abuser is offering to lend an ear so I can complain about some of the other people who have betrayed me, and I don’t want to talk about it? Shocker! I can’t see a single reason why I wouldn’t want to talk to you about him.” 

Dream let out a small huff, thoughtful. “Look at it like this, Tommy. You talk to me now, you get some stuff off your chest. Civil conversation makes time go faster, and you never even have to come and see me again when this is done. You probably won’t. I don’t blame you! It’s just like telling a brick wall about your problems, except I’m actually listening to you.” 

“That’s-” Tommy hesitated. “Actually not a half bad idea, if I’m being completely honest. Fine. But I’m only doing it because I want to, not because you suggested it.” 

“Exposure therapy,” Was the only thing Dream offered him in response. 

“Right.” Tommy shuffled a little. He would never in a million years consider Dream anything close to a friend, and his skin still crawled when the other man got too close, but just talking, without facing him, that was easy enough. It was like he had said, just like talking to a brick wall. “You know, for a while there, I thought he was just as bad as you were.” 

Dream just hummed, accepting the statement.

“When I- er, ran from you, he took me in, gave me a place to stay. I kind of foisted myself on him, to be honest. I don’t think he would have even let me stay if not for Phil.” 

“And is Phil your biological father?” Dream asked. 

Tommy just laughed, which wasn’t terribly revealing one way or the other. “Anyway; back on track. I was a pretty shit guest. I dug this big hole under his foundation, which apparently messes with the structural stability of the building or whatever. The whole house is at a slight angle now. If you place anything on a flat surface inside, it starts to slide a little-” 

Dream snorted. 

“-and apparently he wasn’t too pleased about that. I kept him up late at night screaming, and I couldn’t even get out of bed some days because of how terrible everything felt. I rooted through his shit, and I dropped an entire armful of enchanted arrows in with the normal ones by accident. He kept giving me steak to eat, but I snooped around and found where he kept his golden apples, and I decided that was what I wanted to eat for some reason. So all I ate were golden apples.” 

“I’m sure Techno loved that,” Dream muttered. 

Tommy just shook his head in agreement. “Basically, I was a piss poor excuse for a roommate. I can’t believe that he didn’t just throw me out in the snow.” 

“He knew you were hurting,” Dream offered. “He knew… that I had hurt you.” 

Tommy shook his head. “That shouldn’t excuse my actions. No matter how bad it is, my pain doesn’t give me the excuse to inflict pain on others as well, it doesn’t give me the excuse to double down on my horrible actions and refuse to acknowledge when I’m being a shitty person.”

Dream didn’t say anything, so Tommy continued. Part of him hoped Dream was taking mental notes. The other part of him hoped that when Dream finally decided to fix his fractured moral compass, he would go to a more reliable source than a sixteen year old.

“But he kept himself in check, he catered to whatever I wanted, and most importantly, he let me stay. I guess, between all of the gifts and the putting up with my shit and the way he so obviously didn’t want me to know he enjoyed my company, I forgot that we were two different people, on two different sides of a war.” Tommy sighed. “I forgot that everything he stood for, I despise. And vice versa.” 

“It felt like a betrayal.” 

“Only because I had blinded myself to it. If I had opened my eyes for three seconds to the world around me, maybe I would have been a little less angry. It wouldn’t have worked out no matter how hard I tried. As much as he wanted to care about me, and as much as I still care about him, there’s some relationships that aren’t fair to either party.” 

“Who would he be to you, if you had the chance?” Dream sounded genuinely curious. 

“He…” Tommy trailed off, wiping his eyes and feeling surprise as his hand came away wet with unshed tears. “He would have been Wilbur to me, I think. I know he’s not, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want him to be.” 

Again, Dream said nothing. 

“I hoped I wouldn’t see him, you know. The day you blew up my home. I didn’t tell anyone about the dogs and I hoped and I prayed to whatever deity might listen to me that he just… decided he wasn’t going to show up. I was angry, and hurt, and I felt like he’d completely abandoned me, but I still cared about him enough not to tell anyone what he had in store.” Tommy felt his voice break a little, sounding ever so small in the tiny space. “I chose him over my own country, and for the longest time, I couldn’t have told you why. But I figured it out now.” 

“You owed him a debt,” Dream offered. “Simply repaying what common courtesy he gave you when you first came to him.”    
  


Tommy was already shaking his head. “You don’t need to be on the same side as someone to care about them, Dream. And I cared about him in spite of his ideals, not because of them. And I’m sure he felt the same about me.” His laugh was brittle. “Of course, you can care about someone and still know, deep down, that the two of you should never cross paths again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are officially in the endgame now, guys! Only two chapters left. :)


	6. Maybe THIS is Day Four...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little late on today's chapter, sorry. (shhhh I haven't gone to bed yet it still counts) Anywho, we've got a bit of a shorter one today, just because of tomorrow's chapter. :)
> 
> Happy birthday to Sapnap!

“Do you have any sevens?” Tommy asked him, annunciating every syllable carefully. 

“Go fish,” Dream replied dryly, flexing the handmade cards in his hand. 

“Alright then,” Tommy replied, setting down one of his cards. “Uno.” 

Dream looked at him. “I don’t think you know how this game works.” 

“We live in a lawless land, who is there to stop me?” Tommy replied. “They already sent me to jail.” 

“Okay, technically you sent yourself to jail.” 

“Yeah, for closure, not to lose to you at go fish,” Tommy shot back. “I don’t think you even made the deck correctly.” 

“To be fair, I haven’t exactly used a deck of cards in months.” 

“To be fair, I’m going to hold that against you for the rest of time, along with your numerous other crimes,” Tommy replied. 

“Sure,” Dream replied. “But you still can’t just ignore the rules like that.” 

“I can ignore whatever rules I want, what are you going to do to stop me?” Tommy lounged back, making a face. “Nothing.”

Dream huffed. “You really don’t like me.” 

“I would like you more if you let me win.” 

“Okay. Tommy, you win.” 

“Thank you. I still hate you,” Tommy said without missing a beat. “I lied.” 

Dream just rolled his eyes. “I can’t say I didn’t see that coming.” 

Tommy just cast his makeshift cards aside, rolling onto his stomach. “How long do you think I’ve been stuck in here?” 

“Honestly?” Dream shrugged. “No clue. Haven’t wanted to keep track of it for a while now. Does it really matter though?” 

Tommy looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “Yes! Yes it fucking matters! I would like to get the fuck out of here, thank you very much!” 

“Oh come on,” Dream said, rolling his eyes again, tone slipping into something dangerously familiar. “Don’t talk to me like that.” 

“What?” Tommy whispered, suddenly teetering on the edge of a dangerous cliff. 

“You heard me the first time,” Dream snapped, facing away from Tommy, not even aware of what he was doing to the teen’s fraying psyche. “We haven’t seen each other in so long, I forgot how much of a bother you can be.” 

_“You’re nothing but a bother, Tommy.”_

_“You’re like a bug, I just want to squash you.”_

_“Do you ever shut up?”_

_“No wonder no one else cares about you.”_

Tommy sucked in a quick breath, feeling like he’d just been plunged into icy water. It clawed at his throat and constricted his airway, flooding his senses and leaving him choking on nothing. “Stop,” he gasped out, and Dream turned at that, confusion flashing on his face. 

That confusion turned to fascination as the older boy realized exactly what Tommy was dealing with. “Are you having a panic attack?” 

“Don’t- don’t look at me like that-” Tommy gasped out, curling in on himself. His breaths were coming out too short and quick for him to get any oxygen, and his hands had gone almost completely numb. 

Dream had half a mind to look at least semi guilty at that. “Is there anything I can do?” 

It took him entirely too long to get the words out of his mouth. “Anything you could do will only make it worse.” 

“Are you sure?” Dream made as though to move closer to the spooked teen. 

“Stay back!” Tommy barked through clenched teeth, and was relieved to see the blonde shrink away from his outburst. 

“I did this to you,” Dream whispered, sounding neither happy nor sad, only concerned. 

Tommy glared at him from his corner and struggled to get his breathing under control. It was so easy to forget, if he let himself, exactly why he hated Dream. The only problem was the juxtaposition of the realization. 

Dream looked like he wanted to say something, but he stayed silent. 

_He’s not your friend. No matter how much he may want to be, he’s not your friend. And whatever he did to you only furthers that point,_ Tommy reminded himself. 

His hands were still shaking.


	7. Day ???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, guys. If you're coming here from Tommy's stream, I'm so sorry. I hope you're all doing alright, and that this can provide you with at least a little bit of serotonin. We've reached the end of Seven Days Till Sunlight, and finally got our happy ending. :)
> 
> Stick around in the end note for a little extra from me! <3

Tommy had all but lost track of time when Sam finally came for him. He hadn’t eaten in days, and the hollows under his cheekbones emphasized that fact. It was clear that he hadn’t been sleeping well either, but that was to be expected when Dream hadn’t even been provided with one bed, let alone a second. He still shuddered sometimes when he looked at Dream, and he had taken to running his fingers through his fluffy blonde hair over and over, until it was frizzy and unkempt. 

The lava dropped first, the levels sinking lower and lower until the bubbling magma no longer blocked his view out of the cell. Tommy was at his feet in an instant, head swimming with protest at the sudden elevation change. 

“Oh,” Dream said, and he sounded almost sad. “You’re leaving me.”

Tommy turned back to look at him, tearing his eyes from the brief flash of freedom he had felt. It was all so close now, only a few painful minutes away. He could practically taste it. “I am.” 

They stood on opposite ends of the cell, looking each other up and down, waiting. 

“I guess this is it then, if you’re really leaving,” Dream said softly. 

“That’s not a question,” Tommy replied shortly. He could hear the soft  _ thump thump  _ of the mechanical platform crossing the lava behind him. 

Dream nodded then, barely perceivable. There were the beginnings of tears budding in his eyes. “Everyone leaves me, eventually.”

More guilting. Was anything actually real with this man? He couldn’t ever really tell. At this point, he didn’t want to anymore. Something inside of Tommy twisted, snapping as it was stretched too far, and he let out a soft huff. “You know, Dream, if you had said that to me a week ago, you probably could have convinced me to stay.” 

The green eyed man tried to hide the speed with which his head snapped up. “What?” It was barely there, a soft mix of horror and reverence. 

Tommy sighed, backing past the divider in the cell, closer to the platform, just to get some distance between him and Dream. “I mean that you had your fingers dug into my head so deeply, for so long, that if you had begged me to stay, as your only friend, I probably would have wanted to.” He shook his head. “Funny how that works.” 

“What changed?” Dream asked him. 

Tommy thought about it for a moment, biting his lip. 

He thought back to his first day with Dream, where he had wanted nothing more than to run from the problem he had inadvertently created. He hid himself under a mask of deceit and false confidence, and when that had shattered, it had left him scrambling at broken shards and begging for someone, anyone, to get him out of there. He hadn’t really wanted to settle anything with Dream on the first day, other than to settle himself far away from the other man. 

The second day, he’d bitten back a little. He’d acted out in what little ways he could, content in the knowledge that Dream couldn’t do any real damage to him in there. That, of course, had been another lie. Dream could do so much to him in Pandora’s Box, just nothing physical. He still hadn’t wanted to admit the effect the green eyed man had on his psyche. When he was nearby, Tommy couldn't help the irrational spikes of fear, the barely perceivable shake of his hands.

On the third day, Dream had finally broken, snapping at him and shutting him up just as quickly as the older had during his exile. His words stung like a slap to the face, and it had taken everything inside of Tommy to respond, speaking his mind and forcing a little of his anger back at Dream for once. Dream hadn’t reacted the way he assumed he would at all, the confusing response clouding his judgement and making him hesitate, to rethink a few of his preconceived notions. Dream was a horrible person, yes. But Dream was also a person with thoughts and feelings, no matter how deeply he shoved them down. The only question that remained was whether or not Tommy wanted to be as terrible to Dream as the other man had been to him. 

On day four, Dream opened up to him. Maybe it was an attempt to manipulate him, maybe it was Dream striving for some genuine human interaction again, that didn’t matter. What did matter was that Dream had placed a small part of himself in Tommy’s hands, to do with what he would. That was the day he really made the choice that being angry at Dream was just too much work. Not when he could focus that energy on something that mattered to him, not when he could focus on feeling better for himself, as opposed to giving Dream more of exactly what he wanted; attention. 

Day five dragged up old memories, tugged on broken heartstrings. He opened up to Dream when the other man offered an ear, for no reason past wanting to spill his own secrets. They tumbled from his mouth seemingly without censor. The hollowed out shell of his relationship with Techno had been gnawing away at him for ages now, the guilt and concern and emotion eating away at his insides. It had felt good just to get it off his chest, just to know that he shared that information with someone else. It didn’t matter who exactly that other person was, just that he wasn’t alone in that knowledge. 

He didn’t want to think about day six. 

And now, here he stood, Dream’s question echoing in his ears. “What changed?” Tommy wondered aloud, watching the netherite blocks go up between him and Dream, the barrier jarring. A small smile flickered on the corners of his lips. “I got closure, Dream. That’s what changed.” 

The barrier between them seemed more real than anything else he’d seen this week. 

“Wait!” For the first time that entire week, Dream sounded panicked. His eyes were stretched wide with fear. “Don’t!” 

Tommy shook his head a little, stepping back onto the platform. “Goodbye, Dream,” he whispered. 

“You can’t just leave me!” 

“I said I wouldn’t let you ruin my future, Dream. You shouldn’t let me ruin yours.” Tommy sighed, running his fingers through his hair. 

Dream sounded broken. His fingers were white against the netherite. “I’m no one without you.” 

Tommy smirked at that. “Get some new interests, bitch boy. I’m not yours to have.” 

The green eyed man made a noise like he’d been punched. “Please.” 

“See you around,” Tommy whispered with a salute. “...or not. That’s probably best for both of us.” 

“No,” Dream whispered. 

“Yeah,” Tommy nodded. “That’s gonna be best for both of us.” 

The platform began to move, and Tommy watched with wary eyes as Dream’s figure got smaller and smaller, until he could hardly see him at all. The platform docked, and slowly as ever, the lava started to drip back down, obscuring his view of his past abuser. 

Sam was on the other side, waiting with a sort of nervous energy that didn’t match him at all. His warden personality was all but discarded, cast aside in his concern for Tommy. The moment the teen stepped off of the platform, the older tackled him in a hug, quickly moving to search him over for injuries. 

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you? I’m so sorry, Tommy, I never thought I would ever have to keep anyone in there for that long-” 

“Big man, big man, please!” Tommy swatted at the arms, but his heart swelled at the gesture. “You’re making a scene!” 

“What happened?” Sam sounded horribly guilty, and his eyes swam with tears. “Are you okay?” 

Tommy took a moment to seriously consider the question, humming. 

Sam was fretting about him like a worried mother. All clad in his netherite armor and towering over him, it made for a comical scene. 

“...I’m better than I’ve been in a long while, Sam.” Tommy looked around them at the blackstone and obsidian walls. He cracked another grin. “Be a hell of a lot better if I was out of this shitty place though.” 

“Of course, of course.” 

Sam didn’t even search him on the way out, wordlessly leading him from one room to the next, until he walked through the final portal and into the main entrance. 

Stepping outside, Tommy squinted at the bright sun, putting an arm up to further shield his face. A disbelieving laugh bubbled out of his throat as he felt the soft heat on his skin. It was so different from the scorching fire of the lava inside of Pandora’s Box. This was warm, welcoming. It tasted like a new beginning. 

All around him, everything was blossoming, growing. The green of the grass beneath his feet had never seemed so bright. Birds chirped and sang as they flew by, so different from the haunting melody Dream would hum within the walls of his prison. Off in the distance, the artificial red of the Big Innit Hotel scraped the sky, waiting for him to return. 

The sun cast a soft light on everything around him, dancing in his hair and turning it the color of molten gold. The rays bounced off of his pinkening cheeks as he grinned, tilting his head up and basking in it. 

_ He’d done it. He was free.  _

He was absolutely glowing with it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, looking at the part where I wrote Tommy couldn't be physically hurt by Dream: Well this didn't age well. 
> 
> But in all seriousness, I just wanted to tell you guys all thank you, from the bottom of my heart! When I started wrting this, I NEVER expected it to blow up the way it did, but you guys, you amazing amazing people, made this thing climb quickly to my most viewed, most kudosed, most bookmarked work in nothing but DAYS. I would be on discord calls with my friends literally tearing up over your sweet comments and honestly, I'm just at a loss for words at the support you guys have shown this. (/pos) Heck, I thought I was over with this entire series before I started writing this. 
> 
> But I'm so glad I did. And if you stuck around long enough to kudos, to comment, or even just to read through the end of this, a special thank you to all of you. I hope you're all staying safe out there, and you remember to drink some water! If you have questions about this fic, or even just want to scream about today's stream, feel free to shoot me a comment about it, I don't like to annoy people with comment responses but I'll do my best to reply to them if you guys want me to! <3
> 
> -Ginger

**Author's Note:**

> So how we feeling about the manipulative seven day sleepover Tommy's gonna have to go through, hmm? I know I have some thoughts. 
> 
> Stay safe out there and make sure to drink water! <3


End file.
